Cruising my 1995 Catalina 42 MK II sailboat with my cat XO, the good, the bad, and the ugly of the open ocean world cruising life.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Early evening thoughts

It is about 5:30 pm as I sit on Reboot. Today was a long but very productive day. After what seems like an eternity I finally managed to get to the point where I could reach a decision about the new rigging.

Much to my surprise there was an almost $2,000 difference between the highest and lowest quotes. There was also a significant difference in lead times : 3 to 5 days at the short end and 7 to 10 days at the long end. The shipping times were all the same: 10 to 15 days via FedEx. The nice thing, of there is a nice thing, is that I now feel free to do some exploration rather than spending each day working on rigging quotes.

We have reserved a car for tomorrow and if the weather is nice will explore Nuku-Hiva. At $130 US per day it is a far cry from the Enterprise Rent a Car $19.95 weekend special! When in paradise accept the costs of paradise.

Our days here have become routine. We usually go into shore in mid-morning to check email and for me to work on the rigging quotes. Some shopping, usually for food and smokes, and as it gets very hot in the afternoon sun we head back to Reboot for a swim. Early evening is quiet time. After dinner and sunset we usually read.

There is a joke that "cruisers midnight" is 1/2 hour after sunset. On Reboot of we are not having a game night (dice or dominoes) that is pretty close to the truth. We tend to settle down quickly once the sun goes down.

Today was cargo ship day. I went with Kevin (Yacht Services) to pick up a new dinghy for another boat. Everything comes off the ship on a pallet or container and is staged in a large dirt field. You drive or walk down, the dock guys point you to your stuff, and away you go. No TWIC's here.